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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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and for a more detailed list of content warnings please the show notes for this episode on your app or on our
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website on the afternoon of Friday May 31 1985 Bob Smith sat in his home office the father of three ran a
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business selling electronic scoreboards and signs a job that provided the flexibility to work from
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home the arrangement was particularly welcome on this unseasonably hot day as it allowed Bob to relax by the pool with
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his wife before sitting down to do some work at around 3:30 p.m. Bob looked out the
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window his office was on the second floor of his family South Carolina home with views over the expansive front yard
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of their large rural property at the end of the 750 ft long driveway Bob saw the familiar side of
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his daughter's blue Chevy Chevette hatchback the car belonged to 17-year-old Sharon F Smith or Sher as
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she prefer to be called Sherry was returning home from a pool party at the home of a
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classmate as was her habit she stopped at the end of the driveway to check the mailbox before heading down to the
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house Bob got back to work but after 5 minutes or so the house was noticeably quiet Sher usually burst in eager to say
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hello to her parents and tell them about her day Bob looked outside and noticed that
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sher's chevet was still idling at the end of the driveway he wondered if she had received
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a letter and was reading it in her car minutes passed and sher's car didn't budge Bob got a bad
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feeling Sher had a rare disease called diabetes in insipidus commonly known as water
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diabetes the condition was characterized by a hormone malfunction that prevented
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sher's kidneys from retaining water resulting in extreme thirst and frequent urination without her medication or
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large quantities of water Sher was under the constant threat of severe and even fatal
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dehydration therefore she never went anywhere without her medication Bob considered whether Sherry
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could have ducked behind a nearby Bush to urinate The Smith's driveway jutted off
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plat Springs Road a long stretch roughly 10 Mi outside the town of Lexington it was a quiet spot surrounded
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by Woodland and Sherie could have easily relieved herself without anyone noticing worst case scenario she might
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have become dehydrated and disorientated or maybe even lost Consciousness not wanting to take any
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chances Bob jumped into his own car and quickly drove to the end of the driveway the engine of Sherry's car was
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still running the driver's side door was open and mail was scattered on the ground Bob got out of his car and peered
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inside of sher's chevet the keys were still in the ignition and The Damp tow she'd taken to
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the pool party lay across the driver's seat beside it on the passenger seat sat sher's
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handbag her medication and wallet were inside the sandals she'd been wearing that day was sitting on the
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floor bare Footprints LED from the car to the mailbox but they stopped there Sher herself was nowhere to be
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[Music] seen [Music] [Music] officers from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department were called and
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quickly arrived on the scene Bob Smith and his wife Hilda assured the police that Sher had no
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reason to run off she was in the prime of her life set to graduate from high school with honors
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in just a few days Sher was a talented singer and she'd been given the honor of singing the National Anthem at the
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school's graduation ceremony she'd been looking forward to it immensely a born performer Sher had been
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accepted to study music at Columbia College in South Carolina later that year in the meantime she and her
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graduating classmates would is celebrating the end of their schooling with the crws to the
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Bahamas for her parents the only explanation for Sherry's disappearance was that something terrible had
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happened Sher was particularly close to her older sister 21-year-old Dawn who was already living away from home while
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studying the siblings shared a love for singing and often performed gospel favorites around
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Lexington collectively known as the Smith sisters they aimed to carve a career for themselves in the Christian
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music industry as soon as Sherie disappeared an officer was summoned to collect Dawn
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from the nearby city of Charlotte and drive her back to Lexington daor admitted to police that
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her father was strict and that this could sometimes be a source of angst for Sherry Sher had occasionally expressed a
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desire to go stay with Dorne but never under any circumstances did Dawn think her little sister would take off on her
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own theirs was a close net family and although Sher craved a bit more freedom she knew her parents always had her best
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interest at heart even on the unlikely chance that Sherie could have run away she wouldn't
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leave her life-saving medication behind police didn't believe the Smiths had anything to hide and they wasted no
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time in launching a full full scale missing person's investigation within hours hundreds of
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locals braved the sweltering heat to Traverse the rugged terrain surrounding the Smith's 10 acre
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property police looked for tire tracks shoe prints or anything else that could provide a clue as to Sherry's
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whereabouts they found nothing had Sherry become disorientated due to her medical condition they didn't
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think she would have wandered far a member of the search party was checking plat Springs Road about half a
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mile from the Smith's home when they found a red bandana it was believed to belong to
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Sher police wondered whether she could have intentionally left it behind as some sort of
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clue as the hours pass with no sign of the teenager police became steadfastly convinced that sher's disappearance
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wasn't the result of her diabetes someone had taken her against her will the last person to see Sher was her
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boyfriend Richard Lawson the two had spent the morning in downtown Lexington organizing Travelers
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checks for sher's upcoming Cruise once they were done Sherry left her Chevette in the shopping center car
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park and drove in Richard's car to their friend's Pool Party the couple spent a few hours there
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before Sher called her parents at around 2:30 p.m. to say she was about to head home Sher and her younger brother
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15-year-old Robert were expected to check in with their parents every now and then to keep them in the loop of
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their plans police cast a suspicious eye on Richard Lawson but sher's family didn't
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think there was any chance he would cause her any harm Sher adored Richard he was an upstanding young man and and
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the two were head over heels in love they'd both been accepted to Columbia College and were excited to be
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starting the next chapter of their lives together regardless police questioned Richard he said that after leaving the
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pool party he dropped Sherry back to her car in downtown Lexington the two sat in her car talking
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for about 15 minutes after that Richard said he kissed Sherry goodbye and got back into
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his own car they shared the same route home so Richard trailed behind Sher for a while
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before turning off in the direction of his own home according to Richard he went
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straight home and didn't leave the house there after his Alibi checked out this put Sherie arriving home alone
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at around 3:30 p.m. some passers by had seen her standing at at her mailbox about to peer
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inside they hadn't noticed anything odd or suspicious but they did recall seeing
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an unusual vehicle in the neighborhood around this time the car was described as a late
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model Oldsmobile or Pontiac in a cranberry color one witness recalled glancing in their rearview mirror and
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seeing the vehicle stop in the Smith's driveway they caught a glimpse of the driver describing him as a male aged in
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his 30s when they drove past again about 10 minutes later sher's car was still there
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but Sher herself wasn't given that the Smith's mail was scattered on the ground police theorized
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that sher's abductor had accosted her at the mailbox shortly after Bob Smith looked away from the window of his home
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office the fact that Bob hadn't witnessed the incident was sheer bad luck by all accounts Sher Smith was a popular
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well-liked and a vibrant young woman she was actively involved in her school community and had been recently voted
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wittiest Girl by her senior class as a devoted member of Lexington's First Baptist Church she took her faith
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very seriously and wasn't involved in drugs or any nefarious Behavior but to police this didn't seem like an
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opportunistic attack if Sher hadn't been targeted by a known enemy police speculated whether
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someone could have followed her home the blond-haired blue-eyed Sherry was described as strikingly
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attractive someone could have noticed her either before or after the pool party and been captivated by her
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physical appearance enough to covertly watch and Trail her vehicle or perhaps they'd been stalking Sher for a
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while Sher worked part-time at a local flea market police learned that just two weeks prior a male customer had been
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kicked out of the market for harassing Sherry and other young women The Smiths were an influential
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family in Lexington sher's father Bob volunteered as a Chaplain for the sheriff's
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department as well as the county jail and Youth Correctional Facility he and his wife Hilda often sang hymns
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to those incarcerated and they were sometimes joined by Sher and Dawn police considered the possibility
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that a former inmate could have developed an obsession with Sher and tracked her down upon their
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release alternatively what if an inmate had it out for Bob Smith and targeted Sherry as part of some deranged Revenge
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plot inquiries were made into former inmates who had crossed paths with Bob or Sher Smith but there was no evidence
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to implicate any of them in the kidnapping with no obvious suspects emerging police considered whether
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sher's abduction could have been financially motivated the Smiths weren't particularly wealthy but the income they
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earned through Bob's electronic sales and hilder's part-time work as a substitute teacher afforded them a
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comfortable lifestyle with an impressively large house although the family seemed like an
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unlikely choice to Target police had to consider what if Sher had been kidnapped
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for ransom later that night as the search for Sherry continued The Smith's home phone rang on the other line was an
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unknown male I have sherry he said I want money and anticipating a call of this nature police had installed a phone tap
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which allowed them to trace the call to a phone booth in an undisclosed location the caller was identified as
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27-year-old Edward Robertson but any hopes that Sherie would be returned were shortlived when
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the call was determined to be a hoax Robertson was hit with multiple charges including extortion and
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obstruction of justice the bogus ROM was a huge waste of police resources for a case where
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time was well and truly of the essence without sher's medication there was the very real possibility that she
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could become dehydrated enough to slip into a coma when there was no sign of Sher
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Smith by the following morning planes equipped with infrared technology was sent down by the
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FBI authorities from surrounding counties were brought in to assist while a trailer was set up in front of the
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Smith family home to act as investigation headquarters led by Lexington County Sheriff James matz the search for the
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17-year-old quickly became the largest Manhunt in South Carolina's history a report came in that Sher had
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recently been threatened by some other students from her High School police looked into these claims
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and questioned every other guest who' attended the pool party with Sher the day before but no further leads
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emerged by Sunday the full weight of Sherry's disappearance was felt as her high school graduation ceremony went
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ahead without her classmates couldn't ignore the enormity of the situation as a chair
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reserved for Sherry sat empty and the national anthem was performed by another student a friend of sher's told The
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State newspaper I won't believe I've graduated until they find her a part of our family is
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missing when Lexington local Betty Harris not her real name saw the media coverage of sher's disappearance it
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sparked a memory on the afternoon of Friday May 31 Betty had been driving down plat Springs
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Road when she saw a young blonde woman walking towards her mailbox a man was approaching a couple of minutes later
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Betty was continuing down the road when she saw the blonde from the mailbox in the passenger seat of a reddish colored
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car it was being driven by a male who looked to be between 35 and 40 years of age with a medium build and receding
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light colored hair the car overtook Betty before slowing down to a point that she was
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forced to bib her horn Betty could see that the man was distracted by his female passenger she
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didn't think much of it until she saw the news and realized that the young woman she'd seen was Sher
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Smith the composite sketches of the man provided by Betty and other Witnesses were notably different however their
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descriptions of his cranberry vehicle were all similar instead of focusing on identifying the suspect by his
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appearance police focused on identifying his car they cated a list of anyone Sher
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associated with who drove a similar vehicle including attendees at her church but as the search rolled into its
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third fruitless day grave concerns were held for sher's welfare even if her kidnapper hadn't
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caused Sherie any harm they'd need to be giving her copious amounts of water to ensure her survival
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it had been an agonizing couple of days for the Smith family they gathered in their home comforted by a passing
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procession of concerned friends and relatives who brought them meals and joined them in
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prayer a team of investigators stationed themselves on the property Round the Clock ready to act the moment any
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potential lead came through the Lexington Community was on edge parents kept watchful eyes on their
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children while young women avoided going out alone fearful of the unknown then at 2:20 a.m. on Monday June
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3rd sher's father Bob was awoken from a Restless sleep by the ringing of the phone Bob
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answered the muffled distorted voice of an unfamiliar man was on the other line he asked to speak speak to Mrs
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Smith Bob beckoned to his wife Hilda and she picked up the receiver it was the call they'd been
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waiting for the man claimed that he had Sherry to prove this wasn't a hoax he described in detail the outfit that Sher
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had been wearing at the time she went missing WR down to the black and yellow bikini she had on
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underneath the man assured hild that her daughter was fine she was eating and drinking plenty of
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water the man said he was going to release Sher The Smiths would be receiving more
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information in a letter from Sher that would arrive at 2: p.m. the following day in the meantime the caller
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concluded they are looking in the wrong place tell Sheriff Mets to get on channel 10 at 7:00 a.m. and call off the
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search at the time technology required a caller to be on the phone for 15 minutes before
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their location could be ascertained given the call was short an instant Trace couldn't be
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established after some time the call was traced to a phone booth outside of a grocery store approximately 12 mil from
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The Smith's home officers rushed to the scene but the booth was empty a dust for fingerprints revealed no
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discernable Clues investigators weren't entirely sure what to make of the call the details about sher's bikini
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hadn't been reported on which shed credibility to the caller claims but beyond that the alleged
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captor hadn't provided any concrete evidence to prove that he had Sherry or that she was indeed
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alive furthermore he hadn't made any Ransom demands which raised questions about the purpose of his
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call regardless the police were taking no chances the owner of the Lexington post
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office was alerted and at 4:00 a.m. he was joined by two officers to collectively sift through every piece of
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mail addressed within the county it was a painstaking task the hours ticked by with no sign of
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the supposed the letter leading to doubts as to whether it existed at all then at 700
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a.m. [Music] success the white legal-sized envelope was addressed to the Smith family home
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in scrolling handwriting inside was a two-page letter written on yellow legal paper signed by
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by Sher Smith dated June 1st at 3:10 a.m. the title of the letter gave investigators
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pause written in cursive at the top of the page were the words last will and testament the letter
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began I love you mommy daddy Robert Dawn and Richard and everyone else I'll be with my father now so please please
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don't worry just remember my witty personality and the great special times we all shared
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together please don't ever let this ruin your lives just keep living one day at a
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time the Jesus some good will come out of this as the letter continued Sher apologized for any disappointment she
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might have caused and urged someone else to take her place on the upcoming Cruise
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she reiterated how proud she was of her family and how much she loved them all the letter
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concluded I know you all love me and will miss me very much but if you'll stick together like we always did you
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all can do it please do not become hard or upset everything works out for the good
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for those that love the Lord there was no return address when Bob Smith was shown the
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letter A desperate helplessness washed over him he immediately recognized the handwriting as his
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daughters the caller had been right this was no hoax but it wasn't just the title of the
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letter or the final farewells it contained that escalated concerns about the abductor intentions for
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Sher at the end of one paragraph she'd written in parenthesis The Haunting words casket
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closed a cursory examination of the letter revealed no fingerprints or any other
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identifying Clues all investigators had to go by was the postage stamp a commemorative duck
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decoy but this was of little help as the stamp was a relatively recent design and
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was currently in wide circulation although the envelope it did confirm one helpful detail it was
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postmarked to June 1 from the city of Colombia just 13 m east of Lexington wherever Sher had been taken
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it couldn't be too far the letter was immediately sent for detailed forensic testing a process that
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could take weeks in the meantime Bob and Hilda Smith made an impassioned play on
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television with Bob urging whoever it is that has our daughter Sherie we want her back we miss
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her we love her please send her back home where she belongs Hilder added she is so important
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to us nothing in the world is more important right now all we ask is just whoever you are send Sher back
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home a $155,000 reward for information was announced with one officer declaring the search is not going to
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stop as long as there is hope anticipating that sher's abductor would call again investigators set up a
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recording device on the Smith family's home phone if he did make contact The Smiths
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were advised to keep him on the line for as long as possible at 3:08 p.m. that same Monday
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the phone rang sher's sister Dawn answered it was the same male caller from earlier he asked to speak to her
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mother have you received a mail today uh yes I have do you believe me now well I'm not
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really sure I believe you because I haven't had any word from Sherry and I need to
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know that Sher is well you'll know in two or 3 days why two or three days call the search
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off the call was soon traced to a pay phone at a pharmacy in Lexington there was no sign of the
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caller or any discernable Clues however the location itself was of particular interest the pharmacy was part of the
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same shopping center where Sher had parked her car while attending the pool party on
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Friday this added weight to the theory that sher's abductor might have spotted her that day and followed her
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home the Smith family didn't know what to make of this turn of events while the contents of sher's letter were deeply
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troubling they refused to give up hope that she could still be found alive maybe her harrowing words were
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meant as some kind of code at 807 that same night the phone rang again when Dawn answered she
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immediately recogn ized the voice of her sister's kidnapper he asked Dawn if she had come
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down from Charlotte dawn said yes and asked who she was speaking to the caller ignored her and
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said I need to speak to your mother tell her to hurry Hilda picked up the caller asked
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did you receive the letter today Hilda responded that she had to prove it the caller asked her to tell
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him one thing that the letter said Sher had had drawn a love heart with a combination of hers and her
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boyfriend Richard's names in it Hilda told the caller this confirming that the two-page letter was written on
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yellow legal paper the caller stated okay so you know now that this is not a hoax
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call he then asked why his request for Sheriff Mets to call off the search hadn't been met
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saying I'm trying to do everything possible to answer some of your prayers so please in the name of God work with
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us here Hilda spoke kindly to the man asking if he could just tell her whether Sher was okay without her
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medicine the caller said that Sher was drinking two gallons of water per hour and going to the bathroom afterwards he
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told Hilda he had to hurry as he knew the calls were being traced this has gone too far he said
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please forgive me the caller told Hilda to have an ambulance ready at their home he claimed that if anything
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happened to Sherry in addition to her request for a closed casket she wanted to have her hands crossed over her chest
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as though in prayer listen to us please the caller implored forget Lexington County look in
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Saluda County do you understand Sherry Fay requests no strangers when we give the
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location Hilda reassured the caller that nobody was going to cause any harm she just wanted to know whether Sher was
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with him the caller said he couldn't tell Hilda that but quote I want to tell you one other
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another thing Sherry is now part of me physically mentally emotionally spiritually our souls are one
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now Hilda begged the caller to tell Sher how much her family loved her and that they' do anything to make her
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happy again the caller repeated his demands to have an ambulance ready Hilda urged him to call back again
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later that night saying God bless you for taking care of my baby the caller continued I got to go now listen
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listen please please please forgive me for this it just got out of hand Cherry is protected now she is part of me now
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and God look after all of us now good night the cryptic phone call left investigators scrambling for
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answers the kidnapper still hadn't provided any proof of life and it remained unclear whether Sher had been
00:31:06
harmed or not the call was traced to a gas station just off the Interstate 20 Highway approximately 8 mil from The
00:31:14
Smith's home but again the caller had left behind no evidence although the information gained
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thus far did allow renowned FBI criminal profiler John Douglas to put together a
00:31:28
22o profile of the perpetrator according to Douglas sher's abductor was a white male most likely in
00:31:37
his mid to late 20s but possibly in his early 30s he was single but had probably
00:31:43
been married in the past or had a history of failed relationships if he had a child of his
00:31:50
own that child would no longer be in his custody he would either live alone or with parents or or older
00:31:59
relatives this wouldn't be the perpetrator's first crime he likely had a criminal record that included anything
00:32:06
from making obscene phone calls and peeping and prying to full-blown sexual assault he'd keep trophies taken from
00:32:14
his victims he'd have a penchant for pornography with a particular lust for bondage and S
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masochism the evidence indicated that Sher Smith had been taken by force likely at knife or
00:32:30
gunpoint this indicated that the perpetrator wasn't particularly Charming or attractive as he knew he wouldn't be
00:32:37
able to lure Sher into his car through any other means he was likely overweight and
00:32:43
suffered from low self-esteem his crimes would be motivated by his prevailing fantasy of
00:32:49
exerting power over unattainable women he likely picked female victims that he had no chance of a relation ship
00:32:57
with in his daily life therefore forging a sense of power and control those victims would likely be
00:33:05
children or young girls as he'd find adult women too intimidating investigators determined
00:33:13
that the perpetrator was using a variable speed control device to alter the sound of his
00:33:19
voice this indicated a knowledge of electronics that suggested the perpetrator likely worked in electrical
00:33:25
contracting a job that provided flexible hours and the freedom to move around although the device distorted the
00:33:33
caller's voice it couldn't disguise his slight southern accent in his first phone call the
00:33:41
perpetrator had told Hilda Smith to expect a letter from Sher at 2:00 p.m. 2:00 was their usual mail delivery
00:33:50
time this in addition to the perpetrator's knowledge of the surrounding counties and his use of
00:33:56
various pay phones gave John Douglas no doubt that the offender lived locally or
00:34:02
was at the very least familiar with the area the perpetrator knew that Dawn Smith had traveled down from
00:34:10
Charlotte he'd also used sher's middle name Fay did this mean he knew the Smith family on a personal
00:34:19
level the pay phone locations also suggested something else of note each call had come from a different location
00:34:28
and each area had been wiped clean the fact that the offender knew his calls were being traced coupled with
00:34:35
his use of a voice altering device indicated a knowledge of forensic proceedings whoever he was investigators
00:34:44
were dealing with someone of above average intelligence John Douglas determined that the perpetrator was meticulous and
00:34:52
obsessive in his daily habits he likely had everything planned planned out with the tone of his voice hinting that he
00:34:59
was reading from a script he was a rigid thinker who probably had an unsuccessful previous
00:35:06
career in the military Sheriff James Mets told reporters I feel we're looking for an
00:35:14
extremely sharp individual in one regard and an extremely psychotic individual in
00:35:20
another regard he seems to be almost schizophrenic one who thinks clearly and acts
00:35:33
irrationally by Tuesday June 4 the investigation into Sher Smith's disappearance rolled into its fourth day
00:35:41
convinced that the perpetrator was following the story in the media the Smith family made another television
00:35:47
appeal for sher's safe return with Dawn telling her sister we're not a family Without
00:35:54
You Hilda added Sher we love you so much we're just not going to give up on finding you I know you're being taken
00:36:04
care of we just feel such assurances from the Lord that you will be with us again empathetic of their plight the
00:36:14
community continued to Rally behind the Smiths with volunteers Distributing over
00:36:19
10,000 missing person posters around town concerned citizens contributed to the reward pool in ining the amount to
00:36:29
$25,000 still nothing led to the identity of sher's kidnapper by 9:00 on Tuesday night over
00:36:37
24 hours had passed since the offender last made contact the Smith family sat on edge
00:36:45
unable to sleep as they awaited further instructions that they weren't even sure
00:36:49
would come then at 9:45 p.m. the phone finally rang Dawn answered it it was sher's
00:37:01
abductor he asked the dawn to put Hilda on the other line and to grab a pencil and
00:37:07
paper this is sher's own words he said so listen carefully say nothing unless you're asked I know these calls are
00:37:17
taped and traced but that's irrelevant now there's no money demanded so here's Sherry Fay's last
00:37:25
request on the fifth day to put the family at rest Sherry Fay being freed remember we are one Soul now when
00:37:36
located you'll locate both of us together we are one God has chosen us respect all past and present
00:37:48
requests the caller told the women to jot down the actual times and events he said the kidnapping happened
00:37:56
at 3:28 p.m. on Friday May 31 and that Sherie quote had the fear of God in her at 3:10 a.m. on Saturday June 1 she
00:38:08
wrote her last will and testament at 458 a.m. the two quote became one Soul Hilda asked the caller what he
00:38:21
meant by that he continued no questions now and instructed them to have an ambulance
00:38:29
ready between 4: and 7:00 the following evening prayers and relief coming soon he said please learn to enjoy life
00:38:40
forgive God protects the chosen again he ordered Sheriff Mets to call off the search
00:38:49
adding blessings are near you will receive last instructions where to find us Hilda pleaded with the man not to kill
00:38:59
her daughter he ignored her concluding we love and miss you all get good rest tonight
00:39:13
goodbye the call was traced to a pay phone at a convenience store at Lake Murray 9 mies from The Smith's home
00:39:22
again no fingerprints or other evidence had been left behind officers established roadblocks in the
00:39:29
area but nothing brought them closer to identifying the perpetrator or finding Sherry based on the caller's
00:39:37
instructions police feared that they could be dealing with a murder suicide however behavioral profiler John Douglas
00:39:44
believed that the perpetrator was quote too full of himself and his perceived power to take his own
00:39:52
life based on his pattern of promising and withholding information Douglas thought it was more likely that
00:39:59
the kidnapper had already killed Sher but didn't want to reveal the location of her body because he was continuously
00:40:05
returning to visit her corpse whatever the case investigators needed to be ready for when the next
00:40:13
call came the following day they came up with a plan they deactivate a majority of payones in the
00:40:21
area and keep a covert eye on the few they left in order this would hopefully Force the perpetrator to one of the
00:40:29
phones that was under surveillance the selected payones were set to go down just after midday on
00:40:37
Wednesday June 5th at 11:45 a.m. 15 minutes before the scheduled shutdown the phone rang at the
00:40:46
Smith family's home Hilda answered hello carefully take Highway 378 West to Traffic Circle take Prosperity exit go 1
00:41:00
and2 miles turn right at sign Mo slge Number 103 go 1/4 mile turn left have white
00:41:09
frame building go to Backyard 6 ft Beyond we're waiting God chose [Music] us the location that Sher Smith doctor
00:41:26
described was in Saluda County roughly 17 Mi west from the Smith family home by this point Sher had been missing
00:41:35
for 5 days and investigators feared the worst they ordered sher's family to stay
00:41:42
home while they followed the caller's instructions taking extra precautions in anticipation for what they may
00:41:49
find but the family remained tirelessly optimistic that Sherie would be found alive with her mother Hilda preparing an
00:41:57
overnight bag in anticipation of a hospital stay a helicopter was dispatched to the
00:42:04
Masonic Lodge a white two-story building surrounded by dense Woodland with their aerial view those on
00:42:12
board could see something through the trees roughly 50 ft behind the lodge about 8 ft into the
00:42:19
woods it was the unmistakable side of a human body a team of off quickly converged on
00:42:27
the scene 17-year-old Sher Smith was lying face up on her back Barefoot and dressed in the same clothes she'd been
00:42:36
wearing on the day she went missing her shirt was pulled over her body in a manner one investigator
00:42:43
described as like a shroud all of the jewelry Sher had been wearing at the time of her abduction was
00:42:50
missing except for a gold necklace given to her by her boyfriend Richard and a single gold start
00:42:58
earing it was immediately clear that Sher had been deceased for several days the recent heat wve had caused
00:43:06
rapid decomposition making it impossible to readily determine the cause or time of her
00:43:12
death however investigators were fairly certain they knew exactly what time Sher
00:43:18
had passed away during his June 4 phone call to Hilder and Dawn Smith the perpetrator
00:43:26
said that he and Sher had become one Soul at 4:58 a.m. on June 1 this was likely the time she had
00:43:36
died if this was accurate it meant Sher had passed away just 12 hours after she'd been
00:43:43
kidnapped while this would have been enough time for Sher to fall sick as a result of her diabetes it wouldn't have
00:43:50
been life-threatening it was therefore unlikely that she died from her medical condition
00:43:57
but sher's body showed no signs of physical violence such as a gunshot or stab wounds and no evidence of sexual
00:44:05
assault the only identifiable clue as to her cause of death was residue from duct
00:44:11
tape that was found on her face which indicated the possibility that Sher had been
00:44:17
suffocated the killer had also cut a significant chunk of hair from sher's head likely to remove duct tape that had
00:44:24
gotten stuck regardless of the exact cause of death a pathologist determined that whoever had
00:44:32
kidnapped Sher was directly responsible her death would therefore be treated as a homicide no matter
00:44:41
what a thorough examination of the surrounding Woods failed to provide any further
00:44:48
Evidence however a line of saplings leading to sher's body had been flattened down indicating that sher's
00:44:55
killer had like ly driven to the back of the Masonic lodge and then dragged her body about 8 ft into the
00:45:02
woods the sheer accuracy of the directions provided by the caller strengthened the investigator's belief
00:45:08
that he had indeed been returning to visit sher's corpse however they didn't think that
00:45:15
was the reason he delayed revealing the location it was more likely that the killer was buying time knowing that the
00:45:22
longer sher's body lay undiscovered the less chance would be of recovering crucial forensic
00:45:29
evidence if this was the case it bolstered the theory that the killer was familiar with criminal
00:45:36
proceedings the location of the crime scene also strengthened the belief that the killer lived
00:45:41
locally the Masonic Lodge was in a remote area with no foot traffic not the type of place you'd stumble upon by
00:45:54
accident Sherry's family were anxiously sitting at home holding a silent prayer when
00:46:02
they saw a patrol car heading down their driveway they immediately knew that Sher
00:46:08
was dead as Dawn later described to TV series eyewitness Hilder immediately fell apart
00:46:17
sobbing not my Sherry not my baby Dawn recalled I'd never heard crying like that until that
00:46:28
moment when the news reached the Lexington Community an outpouring of grief was accompanied by an increasing
00:46:35
sense of fear if sher's killer wasn't identified what would stop him from striking
00:46:42
again friends of sher's feared they could be targeted next her co-workers from the flea market
00:46:50
grew increasingly afraid that the strange man who had harassed Sherie was responsible and would set his sights on
00:46:58
them on the afternoon of Thursday June 6th Sheriff mats held a press conference appealing to the perpetrator
00:47:06
directly met stated we are concerned that this person may take his own life if he doesn't turn
00:47:14
himself in we don't want him to do that I want to reassure him that we have no intentions of killing anyone all we want
00:47:22
to do is take this person into custody we're trying to get this person to surrender he needs help and we want him
00:47:31
to get it if he's having fun jerking us around he can continue the investigation
00:47:38
is going full blast and we are not stopping until we catch him I promise Charlie Keys was a well-known
00:47:49
investigative reporter with local Columbia news station W 2 and 1/2 hours after the the press
00:47:56
conference Charlie was in his office when he received a phone call from an unfamiliar male who explained that the
00:48:02
call was regarding Sherie face Smith he said that he wanted to use Charlie as a medium
00:48:10
ordering listen carefully I can't live with myself Charlie and I need to turn myself in I'm
00:48:19
afraid the caller gave Charlie a set of instructions once they ended their convers ation Charlie was to call
00:48:27
Sheriff James Mets and let him know this was no hoax to prove that he was the one
00:48:33
responsible for sher's Abduction the caller described sher's last willing Testament in
00:48:40
detail Charlie was to appear on the news that evening to broadcast Sheriff Matt's
00:48:45
home phone number as proof that the message had been received the following morning Charlie
00:48:52
was to go to the Sheriff's home along with Sher priest the caller promised he would call
00:49:00
them then and turn himself in he were to then give Charlie an exclusive interview
00:49:06
in which he'd reveal every detail about sher's abduction the caller explained it just went bad I know her
00:49:16
family and well I just made a mistake it went too far all I wanted to do was to make life to her I didn't know she had
00:49:28
the rare disease and it just got out of hand I got scared and I have to do the right
00:49:37
thing all calls made to the news station were automatically recorded So when Charlie got off the phone he was able to
00:49:44
notify investigators immediately when they heard the audio they had no doubt that the voice
00:49:50
belonged to sher's killer however they were highly SK skeptical of the caller claim that he
00:49:57
was going to turn himself in he was getting far too much enjoyment from the power he wielded in this
00:50:04
[Music] situation it had been an agonizing day for sher's loved ones as they came to
00:50:12
terms with the reality that Sher would never be coming home the Thursday evening news came and
00:50:20
went without Charlie ke fulfilling the Killer's request to make a public television announcement
00:50:25
[Music] things were quiet at the Smith residence Bob was at the funeral home making arrangements for his daughter's
00:50:33
burial while Hilda was in a sedated sleep at 8:57 p.m. the phone rang sher's Aunt Beverly
00:50:44
answered a telephone operator announced that she had a collect call for Dawn Smith Beverly responded that Dawn
00:50:52
couldn't come to the phone a male voice then came on the line and asked to speak with Hilda or
00:51:00
bobsmith realizing who she was talking to Beverly went to find Dawn as soon as Dawn picked up the phone
00:51:09
she recognized the muffled voice of her sister's killer the caller told dor that he would
00:51:16
be turning himself in the following morning he claimed that Sher had requested he do so on the fifth day
00:51:23
after her body was found he explained that he would no longer be giving an exclusive interview to Charlie
00:51:31
ke however he had written a detailed letter describing exactly what happened to Sher along with pictures and both
00:51:40
Thorne and Charlie would be receiving a copy this thing got out of hand and all I wanted to do was make love to Don I've
00:51:48
been watching her for a couple to to I'm sorry to Sher Don I hope you and your family
00:51:55
forgive me for the dawn urged the caller not to take his own life she said she wanted to help him and that God would
00:52:04
always forgive the caller responded that he couldn't live with himself nor could he
00:52:11
live in prison or face the electric chair I'm sick he said this is the way it's going to have to
00:52:21
be the caller went on to explain that Sherie was very strong WR willed and didn't cry once during her
00:52:28
ordeal she wasn't scared he said she knew that she was going to be an angel he claimed that Sher wanted her
00:52:38
family to treasure her gold necklace and stud earing he then made a disturbing offer did Dawn want to know how her
00:52:48
sister died dawn said yes according to the call he gave Sher the option did she want to
00:52:58
be suffocated shot or given a drug overdose she chose Suffocation Sher then wrote her last
00:53:08
will and testament at her own valtion the caller then quote made love to Sherry before tying her to the bed
00:53:16
post with electrical cord he proceeded to cover her head with duct tape until she could no longer
00:53:24
breathe Dawn asked if Sher had been afraid the caller responded she was not she was at peace
00:53:35
she knew that God was with [Music] her the call was traced to a truck stop roughly 50 mi from The Smith's home in
00:53:46
the town of Great Falls yet again the caller had left behind no evidence but his latest phone call had
00:53:55
been significantly longer than the others and provided investigators with some deeper
00:54:02
insights like in his call to Charlie Keys the perpetrator had told Dawn that he was a friend of the
00:54:09
family but his claims that he didn't know Sher had a rare medical condition disproved this
00:54:15
assertion sher's diabetes was a well-known fact among her Inner Circle and if the perpetrator knew the Smiths
00:54:23
he would have been aware of this additionally investigators highly doubted that he would have given Sher
00:54:30
the choice of how she died as profiler John Douglas explained in his book When a Killer calls even if this was true it
00:54:40
was incredibly dubious that Sher would have chosen Suffocation to Douglas quote he chose this means because it
00:54:49
prolonged his sexual thrill at the power he had over her and the length of time he got to enjoy watching her
00:54:58
die but there was something else the caller said that had investigators on edge at the start of the call he'd
00:55:06
mistakenly said that all he'd wanted to do was make love to Dawn daor and Sher looked strikingly
00:55:14
similar and they were sometimes mistaken for twins given that the perpetrator had
00:55:20
specifically asked to speak with Dorne and appeared to be attempting to establish a bond between them concerns
00:55:26
were raised that he could be turning his focus on Dawn if John Douglas's behavioral
00:55:33
profile was anything to go by the killer wouldn't stop with Sher what if Dawn was
00:55:43
next the Smith family was warned of this possibility but they had no choice but to
00:55:50
persevere just as investigators suspected the killer didn't turn himself in in on Friday like he had
00:55:58
promised Saturday June 8th was sher's funeral over 1,000 mourners gathered to farewell the 17-year-old at Lexington's
00:56:07
First Baptist Church Sherry's murder had a profound impact on the local community and
00:56:14
Lexington citizens tied pink ribbons to signposts and letter boxes between the church and Cemetery as a sign of
00:56:22
respect sher's Pastor urged to those in attendance not to blame God saying God does not do what has been
00:56:31
done here it is because of the confusion and the sin and the depravity of men that we've come to an occasion like
00:56:40
this investigators believed there was a high chance that sher's killer was among
00:56:45
the attendees they filmed the proceedings and were on high alert for anything out
00:56:51
of the ordinary at the cemetery as the graveside service wrapped up a man in his 30s suddenly leapt from the
00:57:00
crowd I'm sorry I'm really sorry he shouted whoever is responsible for this I believe you're here I love you and I
00:57:09
will not hurt you come forward right now his sudden Outburst caused such alarm that one of sher's friends fell to
00:57:19
the ground screaming in Terror the man immediately became a suspect even more so when it was
00:57:27
revealed that he owned a car similar to the one seen near the Smith's driveway on the day Sher was abducted he was
00:57:34
taken in for police questioning and had his voice compared to the audio of the killer but it didn't match and there was
00:57:41
nothing to link him to the crime the Shak and Smith family had only just returned home from the funeral when
00:57:50
at 2:21 p.m. the phone rang Dawn in answered with the operator telling her it was a collect call from
00:57:59
Sher after accepting the charges Dawn was once again met by the voice of her sister's
00:58:06
killer he told her he'd been at the funeral and that a police officer had directed him into a parking
00:58:13
space for several minutes he ranted about his final interactions with Sher speaking as though the two of them had a
00:58:20
close relationship and that Sher viewed him as a confidant Dawn asked the caller why he didn't turn
00:58:28
himself in as promised he responded I didn't have the strength I'm scared as hell he refused to tell Dawn where he
00:58:40
had killed sh saying only that it happened in Lexington County however he claimed he did want to
00:58:47
reveal this information he promised at dawn he'd call again the following Saturday with
00:58:53
the exact location concluding the call God bless us [Music] all the call was traced to a gas station
00:59:06
in the neighboring state of Georgia roughly 60 mi from The Smith's home predictably there was no sign of
00:59:14
the killer nor any clues Left Behind the days ticked by with no further word from
00:59:21
him investigators remained unconvinced that he could have taken his own life he was enjoying himself too
00:59:29
much Sheriff Mets told the Press I don't think he has the guts if he was going to do it he'd have done it
00:59:38
by now the man hunt intensified as the reward for information increased to $30,000 investigators examined the
00:59:50
footage from sher's funeral on the lookout for anyone even remotely suspicous supicious
00:59:55
a segment about sher's case was aired on the local Crimestoppers TV program with
01:00:01
the sheriff matz telling the public somebody somewhere knows the killer we've got to find this person
01:00:09
before he kills again hundreds of tips came through to the police but the days continued to go
01:00:16
by with no arrests gun sales Rose around South Carolina with several households reporting receiving threatening phone
01:00:25
calls against their children although the Killer's silence was mystifying investigators believed it
01:00:33
was only a matter of time before the perpetrator made further contact with Dorne she was given instructions on how
01:00:40
to behave if he called again given his hunger for power daor was told to be compassionate and
01:00:48
understanding so that he would feel like the one in charge the longer she could keep him
01:00:54
talking the better their chances were at tracing the call but despite his promise to call the
01:01:01
following Saturday a week came and went with no further contact from the killer concerns arose that he could have
01:01:10
fled into state where he could be on the hunt for his next victim if experience had taught the
01:01:16
investigative team anything it was that killers of this nature didn't simply stop if he wasn't apprehended there were
01:01:24
no doubts that he would kill again investigators wondered whether they could lure the killer out by using
01:01:32
Dawn as a sort of porn sher's wouldbe 18th birthday was approaching profiler John Douglas
01:01:42
devised a plan what if they held a memorial service for Sherie on her birthday and
01:01:48
made sure it was covered by the media this just might reignite the Killer's interest in in
01:01:55
Dawn Sherry collected stuffed koalas Dawn could lay one on sher's grave in the hopes that the killer might
01:02:04
be tempted to steal it as a momento covert officers could lay in wait with Round the Clock surveillance
01:02:11
ready to capture any suspicious activity Dawn was apprehensive about the plan but she was prepared to go to any
01:02:21
length to capture her sister's killer the memorial was scheduled to go ahead on Tuesday June
01:02:29
25th 3 days prior just after midnight on Saturday June 22 the phone rang at the Smith family
01:02:39
home Dawn answered the operator told her it was a collect call from Sherry fa Smith Dawn
01:02:50
accepted thank you Dawn you know this isn't a h folks correct came the all too familiar
01:02:58
voice he continued you know God wants you to join Sherry Fay this month next month this
01:03:08
year next year you can't be protected all the time have you heard about Deborah May
01:03:22
hamri to be Contin nud next [Music] week